PIMETA Parts

for the ceramic, just replace it with polypro and be happy

for enclosure check out iagaudio.com. beautiful chassis! was going to get one from partsconnexion but it doesn't have the right height for what I need.

for volume knobs, check out thaudio.com. they're in taiwan but I haven't seen anything better. unless you buy a DACT knob which I think are highly overrated and the price highly inflated.

For the power caps, the Nichicon UPW's are best - 25V, 470uF:
647-UPW1E471MPD

There is an identical selection ending in "MPD6", but the dimensions are 8mm dia. x 20mm high. The ones above are 10 x 16, and the 16mm height will fit in the very thin Hammond case (see below). Whichever you get, stay with the "UPW's". Those are the best electrolytics at Mouser.

Your C6G is exactly the one I ordered.

I am not using C1, and Tangent does not recommend them. The board comes with the traces shorted.

The Hammond 1455J1201BK (black) is an excellent enclosure for the PIMETA. The Pana pot or smaller ALPS pot is sufficient to hold the board when the pot is bolted to the front panel. There is plenty of room on the sides for leads, and plent of room in back for either a TREAD or 2x9V batteries. Look through the "Post photos of your builds" sticky thread, or search for "PIMETA photos", and you should find examples of each. __redruM had an excellent example of the battery version, and the photo of the TREAD version using this case is on the forum somewhere, too.
546-1455J1201BK

It depends on what you want, obviously. However, this is about the smallest metal case possible without taking any shortcuts in batteries, filtered walwart power supply, or quality power caps. Even so, you must order the shorter UPW's as listed above.

Good luck.

Forgot to mention - a lot of people seem to like the "KILO" knobs - especially the "ML" model. It's the one that's machined aluminum with a couple of o-rings. Unfortunately, that brand is carried by DigiKey, not Mouser.

Personally, I think any quality, metal knob about 5/8" in diameter, and about 5/8" long would work fine.

hmmm... (edited)

Don't understand that reference above, but here's a photo and the post from __redruM. It's one of the best examples of a fully-blown PIMETA in the smallest, quality Hammond case possible. Note that __redruM used 4x1000uF power caps.


Here's his original post with other photos:
http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showp...&postcount=233

Here's the same case with a TREAD instead of the batteries. Interestingly, this one even uses the large, Blue Velvet Alps pot! Still, same case (sorry that I don't remember the builder on this one):

I apologise for my iagaudio suggestion. didn't realize that the pimeta is that small

Personally, I would order the original part # and wait. Mouser says 7/31, and my experience has been that those dates are often very conservative. Another choice would be to order the next higher voltage at 35V, 470uF. Tangent's board needs a 10mm dia, minimum, or the lead spacing will be too small, most likely. the 35V, 470uF is 10 x 20. There is a chance the 20mm height will fit - the inside clear space with the case is 24mm. The board will sit on the bottom with an insulation sheet underneath, so perhaps you can scrunch the cap down flush with the board when you solder it. If not, they're only 87 cents, so at most, you're out $3.48.

I would not order the 16V. Here's a quote from Tangent:
"You may notice that the caps only have half the full power supply voltage across them in normal use. 16V caps would work in the above example. However, this assumes that the virtual ground is always precisely centered between the rails. That is indeed what happens in normal operation, but it's wise to design for abnormal conditions as well. There are several ways to collapse the virtual ground. You don't want to have to replace all your rail caps if there is ever a virtual ground fault, do you?"

Haven't read the whole thread, but why not just buy the Panny FM or FC's from digikey if you want to get it up and running sooner? Also, both Mouser and Digikey stock a large number of nice looking knobs. Several of the Kilos are especially cool.

Yes, I agree, they look like Panasonic FM's. The Panasonic EEUFM1E102 is a 25V, 1000uF cap at 12.5mm dia x 20mm high. If you're willing to order from DigiKey, you can get them. By all reports, they are of extremely high quality - perhaps slightly better than the UPW's. That's where you can also get the KILO knobs. However, as with Mouser, there will be some things they don't have. If you are willing to order from more than one place, though - your parts selection increases.

Quality - but also, grounding is better. That can be a problem - with a virtual ground amp, you must have the power supply isolated from the virtual ground (if you use a wall adapater). However, grounding the jacks and the pot on the metal panels (by bolting to them) can increase the grounding effect, and reduce the noise floor of the amp.
The guy in that thread measure 10mV of DC offset in his sources. I don't think that's the norm, to put it mildly. He may have had some unusual circumstances. You might measure your stuff and see what you get. I think if I measured that much I wouldn't use that source, anyway - but that's just me.
In keeping with the metal theme, there are many nice looking T1-3/4 chrome barrels that are panel-mounted. Or, you can get some very cheap, snap-in plastic retainers. Blue seems to be the favorite and is the most expensive of LED's (of course!).

Knob #3 is plastic with a thin aluminum outer shell. That would not be my first choice for an all-metal Hammond, but that's just me. All will work well with the proper size and shaft size.

One last note about those power caps - 4 x 1000uF is 4000uF!! That's more than recommended with even the M3. In fact, if you read much of the M3 build thread over on Headwize, there have been issues with inrush current even at the recommended M3 max of 3000uF. Amb even went so far as to recommend a different regulator on the STEPS/TREAD to withstand this current.

Perhaps in the case of the PIMETA, the batteries absorb a lot of this inrush current. Nevertheless, 4000uF between rails is a stupendous number. I may try it myself.

With a little work, the aluminum knobs can be polished. Here is a EPD 450-6017 that I polished the front of. The knob is solid aluminum with clear anodization. It takes a little work to get thier "brushed" look and coating off but if you want shiny, you can manage.